Why Arizona State Should be Highest-Ranked Big 12 Team

The Arizona State Sun Devils finished the 2024 college footballl season ranked at number eight in the AP Poll after thoroughly impressing over the last two months of the season.

As the Sun Devils and Kenny Dillingham move ahead to the 2025 season, the expectations seem to continue to grow by the day - future Big 12 titles, CFP appearances, and developing players to be first-round NFL draft picks is becoming the norm in Tempe.

While some believe the team is destined to repeat history, others are more apprehensive.

Brad Crawford of CBS Sports revealed an updated preseason top 25 earlier this week - with one goal every program must work towards attaining in 2025 accompanying the rankings - read more on that here.

Crawford currently has the Sun Devils as the 17th best team in the nation - which would come out to fourth in what could be a much improved Big 12 conference.

How the rest of the conference shakes out according to Crawford:

Kansas State (13)

Brigham Young (14)

TCU (15)

Iowa State (19)

Texas Tech (21)

For starters, the six representatives in this particular ranking are a testament to the general strength of the conference compared to last season - it could even be argued that Baylor is deserving

All of the teams that are ranked in the current exercise are worthy inclusions, but it does feel slightly disrespectful to the Sun Devils to not show them due respect as the best team in the conference after just winning the title months prior - if for no other reasoning.

This is no slight to the three teams ranked ahead of Arizona State, but the Sun Devils should boast a similar defense compared to the Wildcats and Cougars, while the top-end talent (Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson) will typically favor ASU as well.

Coaching is another massive factor that frequently gets overlooked - Dillingham likely boasts one of the best surrounding staffs in the conference at-large, while other programs such as Kansas State seemingly get overmatched when huge matchups come along.

Read more about the future of Sun Devil football - more specifically the steadfast commitment to the program from 2026 four star defensive back Jalen Williams here

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